Characterizing the biomechanical differences between novice and expert point-of-care ultrasound practitioners using a low-cost gyroscope and accelerometer integrated sensor: A pilot study.

Introduction: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has become an important diagnostic tool in acute care medicine; however, little is known about the biomechanical differences between novice and expert practitioners. Methods: A low-cost ($50 CAD) gyroscope and accelerometer integrated sensor was assembled and affixed to an ultrasound probe. Seventeen participants, nine novices and eight experts, were recruited to perform three abdominal and four cardiac scans on a standardized patient. Participant demographics, time per scan, average acceleration, average angular velocity, decay in acceleration and angular velocity over time, and frequency of probe movements were analyzed. Video capture with blinded video review was scored. Results: On video review, experts had higher image optimization and acquisition scores for both abdominal and cardiac scans. Experts had shorter scan times for abdominal (7 s vs. 26 s, Discussion: This study supports the feasibility of a low-cost gyroscope and accelerometer integrated sensor to quantify the biomechanics of POCUS. It may also support the concept of "window shopping" as a method by which experts obtain abdominal and cardiac views, where sliding is used to find an acoustic window, then smaller rocking and tilting probe movements are used to refine the image.